SOLO:DUO:TRIO is a monthly night of improvised performances bringing together a wide variety of musicians and artists. Each show features a solo, a duo, and a trio performance where performers are invited to present something new or play with a person they haven’t played with before in an intimate and open environment.

Butcher is well known as a saxophonist who attempts to engage with the uniqueness of time and place. His music ranges through improvisation, his own compositions, multitracked pieces and explorations with feedback and unusual acoustics. Since the early 80s he has collaborated with hundreds of musicians – including Derek Bailey, Rhodri Davies, Andy Moor (EX), Phil Minton, Christian Marclay, Eddie Prevost, John Stevens’ SME, Gino Robair, Polwechsel, Mark Sanders, John Tilbury, and Okkyung Lee.

Recent compositions include “Penny Wands” for Futurist Intonarumori, two HCMF commissions for his own groups, “Good Liquor Caused my Heart for to Sing” for the London Sinfonietta and “Tarab Cuts”, a response to recordings of early Arabic classical music which was shortlisted for a 2014 British Composer’s Award.

“English saxophonist John Butcher may be among the world’s most influential musicians, operating at the cutting-edge of improvisatory practice since the ‘80s. Whenever an acoustic musician starts to sound like a bank of oscillators, a tropical forest, a brook or an insect factory, Butcher’s influence is likely nearby.” – New York City Jazz Record.

“For over 10 years, I have only played unscripted/improvised music. I have experimented with the sound of the cello, limiting myself to the alive material at hand: vast and complicated layers within the instrument and myself; and to let this music evolve continuously in relationship with others. It relates to the process of uncovering an endless multiplicity of coexisting sense perspectives. And it deals with the energy that this gives rise to. For me, it is the most exciting place to play music from.”

Phil Julian is a UK based composer and improviser active since the late 1990’s principally working with modular electronic devices and computers. Releases have appeared on labels including Entr'acte, Harbinger Sound and The Tapeworm with regular solo and collaborative live performances in the UK and Europe.

Andie Brown began playing music as a bass player in her teens, working with a number of bands over the course of the following two decades. In 2007 Andie began performing and recording as a solo artist under the name These Feathers Have Plumes. Over the last decade, Andie has been experimenting with glass and electronics, creating what she has termed an “augmented glass harp”. Elsewhere, Andie has enjoyed collaborating with a diverse range of artists including Sophie Cooper, Joincey, Part Wild Horses Mane on Both Sides, Kelly Jayne Jones, Phil Julian, Piotr Kurek and Adam Bohman but most often with Sharon Gal in the duo Mami Wata. In 2017, Andie was nominated for the PRSF Oram Awards. She has recently relocated from London to West Yorkshire where she is currently undertaking a Masters by Research in Music at the University of Huddersfield.

Oliver Barrett is a musician and illustrator currently living in London. Having played in various bands, Oliver has most recently put out several releases under his 'Petrels' moniker on various labels internationally including Denovali, Tartaruga, and Patient Sounds. As a composer he has had work commissioned by the BFI, London Word Festival and the Southbank Centre amongst others. A multi-instrumentalist, Oliver's musical practice ranges from solo electronics, acoustic improvisation, band work, and sound art, to orchestral arrangements and song, drawing influences from a broad spectrum.